CPA Defrauds Elderly Investors, Pleads Guilty To Charges: DOJ

BRADENTON, FL — A CPA in Bradenton pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges related to defrauding his elderly investors, according to a Department of Justice newsletter.

Kenneth Murry Rossman, 63, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, and aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false income tax return. He faces a maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison, the DOJ said.

According to the plea agreement, Rossman, a Florida certified public accountant and licensed insurance agent, conspired with Phillip Roy Wasserman, a former lawyer and licensed insurance agent, to defraud elderly victims.

They made false and fraudulent misrepresentations and concealed material information in order to convince elderly investors to put their money into Wasserman’s new insurance venture, FastLife, the DOJ said.

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Some victims were persuaded to liquidate traditional investments, such as annuities, and/or to borrow funds against existing life insurance policies to generate cash to invest in the venture.

They weren’t told about surrender fees and other costs associated with the liquidations, and Rossman prepared income tax returns for victims in a manner designed to conceal negative personal tax consequences that resulted from the liquidations from both the investors and the Internal Revenue Service, the DOJ said.

The victims’ money was used to perpetuate the fraud and for the conspirators’ personal enrichment. Wasserman paid Rossman a percentage of the victims’ money as compensation for his role in the scheme, the DOJ said. He also used the money to make payments to earlier victims in the FastLife venture, as well as to investors in his earlier hedge fund and real estate fund ventures.

Wasserman also spent a significant amount of the victim-investors’ money to finance a lavish lifestyle that included luxury residences, high-end vehicles, jet skis, jewelry, personal celebrity entertainment, gambling, retail shopping, home improvements, personal insurance, and many other expenses for his personal benefit and the benefit of family members.

The conspiracy resulted in his victim’s losing more than $6.3 million, the DOJ said.

In November 2020, Wasserman was charged in a superseding indictment with filing false income tax returns, tax evasion, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, and substantive counts of wire fraud and mail fraud. His case is currently set for trial in December 2021.